Legislators have bemoaned the exposure of the Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission (ZACC) and National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to an opaque systems hindering the country’s efforts to curb corruption involving high profile political and non political figures in the process.
By Marshall Bwanya
Speaking on Thursday at the Southern Africa Parliamentary Support Trust (SAPST) policy dialogue on the Auditor’s General report, Member of Parliament for Bulawayo, Priscilla Misihairambwi Mushonga noted that their conversation with ZACC revealed that it was a herculean task to mitigate gross corruption with the current legal system and framework.
“As for the money laundering bill we have been looking at it and we had a conversation with ZACC.
“ZACC raised issues that unless we change some of the legal rules that facilitate prosecution, and say if there are issues that have to deal with corruption, certain issues do not arise.
“We will continue with the catch and release, she said.
Several corruption cases involving high profile political and non political figures over the past few years have collapsed due to insufficient evidence presented by the NPA to courts.
Honorable Willias Madzimure noted that ZACC had informed them that high profile cases were being tempered with before they reached courts to subvert justice.
“ZACC was also complaining that as dockets move from the police to the courts they become completely new and weak to the extent that they cannot be used for conviction.
“ZACC on this one were appealing for our docket system to be changed to electronic so that no one tempers with it,” he said.
Honorable Madzimure reiterated the need to build NPA’s capacity and improving the prosecution system.
The legislators added that they had discussed as the Public Accounts Committee to extend an invitation to ZACC to sit in public hearing and collect oral evidence to be used in the courts of law as respondents would be under oath.
